myofascial release Archives - GrandmaBetsyBell

Gentle Reader,

I will tell you what the first barrier of resistance is not. We move right through it in our typical stretches prior to a walk, run, bike or hike.

You are stretching. You put your foot on the lower rail of the fence, leg at full extension and you lean forward to reach for your toes. You push your calf into submission. Hold a few seconds, maybe count to 30. Switch.

The run is over. In the night, a Charlie horse makes wakes you screaming for mercy. You grab your calf, knuckles bouncing off the rock solid knot. You think, Did that stretching do any good at all?

Your lower back is cranky. To get relief you lie down on the mat, swing one ankle over the other standing leg, grab your thigh and pull the bent leg in, feeling it in the T-band running down the crossed leg, thigh and into the butt. Your hip still screams when yet another set of stairs appears on the trail to Snow Lake. What good was that stretch, really?

Thinking you have been helping yourself all these years with these classic stretches, you feel despair. At the next appointment with the Myofascial Release therapist, you ask what you might try that could be a more effect method of self-care.

The first barrier of resistance. Feel for it. Stop there and hang out.

You have no idea what this feels like even though you have had a dozen treatments which have reshaped your body and given you far more flexibility than you have had in 40 years. You get on the floor together. You sit, legs out-stretched, leaning back on your arms, stiff behind you. You slowly point your toes. The pain up the T-band involving the Sciatica begins immediately. The toes barely push toward the floor. In perceptively pointed. You hold right there, listening to the body, applying a tiny bit of pressure with the toes, just short of inducing pain. After about 2 minutes, there is a release, a melting of fascia and you can point the toes a little further toward the floor before the next “first barrier of resistance” engages.

(If you explore myofascial release videos, they all present poses that are way past the first barrier of resistance for most of us over 50. Do not force yourself into a position. You will not be able to feel the resistance.)

Intolerable, you think. How can you bare to wait patiently for the fascia, that girdle of collagen that has formed an inner armor against too much fluid movement, to relax its hold? Not only is it boring but also it seems like such a tiny effort when you are used to big effort to overcome anything troubling. You find a meditation download and put on your head set. The small pressure against the first barrier of resistance becomes a mindfulness exercise, self-care on all levels. You decide to allow 24 minutes for this each morning. Stair climbing, hiking, sitting and walking are less painful. Amazing. It doesn’t take large lunges, pigeon pose, figure four ankle over bent knee.

Perhaps your neck and shoulder are your problem area. You ice, use a brace, put heat on the painful muscles and joints. You might give this self-care a try. Turn your head toward the pain and stop the minute the movement induces pain. Back off just a little and then lean gently into the pain producing position and hold. You will soon feel the fascia melt and you can move a little further until the next first barrier of resistance.

I was standing in line in Costco today and my shin and hip were bugging me. I found a comfortable standing position and moved slightly to produce this pain, then backed off just a little. I breathed into the pressure I was putting so gently on the leg. By the time I was summoned to the counter, the fascia had released and I walked without that discomfort. This is a self-care you can do sitting on a bus, at the movie or in a concert, at the dinner table or in a restaurant. Mindfully notice when pain lurks in your body. Shift so the pain lessens. Lean into the pain-producing position just to the first barrier of resistance, and hold. Deepen your breathing. Soon you will feel the relaxation of the tension that is causing the pain.

I searched the web to find videos and websites with hints for self-care. Everything I found was too far ahead of where my pain kicks in. You may find them helpful so I have included several for you to watch/read. They just left me more frustrated because I was working so hard to get into the position that my body tightened up and could not relax. I couldn’t find the first barrier of resistance. You may be less bound up than I have been.

I’d love to hear how this goes for you if you try it. Please send me any questions if I have not explained the simple self-care technique adequately.

Until next time,

Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

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Gentle Reader,

My newest therapeutic intervention for progressive osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis is Myofascial Release. Since hurting my back in 1992 and dealing with arthritis, I have sampled and treated with private Feldenkrais (Becci Parsons). Becci restored me to functional walking, sitting, rising up from sitting, lying down and even entering and exiting a car. The next therapy was private sessions with Mary Sue Corrado, a therapeutic Pilates specialist, who, after about eight years, helped me develop enough core strength to enjoy yoga without hurting myself. You can read my arthritis history here, and longer explanations of both Feldenkrais and Pilates.

I have had some sessions with a Rolfing specialist. I get regular deep tissue massage and have benefitted from acupuncture. Myofascial Release goes to the heart, the source of the structural problems in my body that contribute to pain. It does not cure arthritis, but it helps the body gain fluid movement.

Through a series of synchronicities, a friend introduced me to Cedron Sterling. She suffered from knee pain and her doctors recommended knee replacement surgery. Instead of surgery, Cedron worked with her through myofascial release therapy. The restrictions melted away and she walks without pain.

I decided to try this treatment. I have a lot of pain in my lower back, hips and feet and my right leg goes numb especially when standing around for a long period of time, choir practice and performance, museum viewing for example. In a recent diagnostic MRI, the sports doctor could see bulging discs in the thoracic and lumbar spine, but did not feel I was at risk for a major problem that would interrupt a walking tour in England. It is troublesome to have a leg go numb, I can tell you, even if danger of debilitating injury is slim.

You can read about the therapy on Cedron Sterling’s web site. You can listen to his teacher’s talk about the treatment and the resistance to embracing it as a viable therapy.

The fascia is a thin film, an internal skin that holds muscles, organs, blood vessels, tendons in place, interconnecting everything in our bodies from the top of the head to the big toe. Over the years, I have had a number of surgeries, strains, twists and each time the fascia adjusts its hold on the effected muscles, tendons and organs. Things get tight.

For example, I had a mastectomy of the left breast in 1971 and the scar area has been rigid for 44 years. By applying gentle pressure into the barrier of resistance, Cedron was able to release all tightness in the rib cage, the chest wall, the muscles and tissue where the incision was made all those years ago. My whole left side opened up. My left arm swings wide and strong without restriction.

He has worked on my feet which have large bunions and an inflexible second toe that has held an immovable arch after a neuroma in the ball of my foot. I have been able to walk long distances without pain because of the masterful craftmanship of Dr. Huppin. He fashioned an orthotic which spread the weight bearing function of the foot out and away from this damaged area. Cedron has released the holding that caused the problem in the first place. I have been grateful for Dr. Huppin’s band-aid, but I realize now that it is no more than a band-aid. Correcting the problem at its root requires release of the fascia which was stuck in a holding position that served some purpose at one time.

Myofascial Release cannot make the body new with one treatment. You are on the treatment table for 90 minutes and the cost is $160 per treatment. Insurance usually does not reimburse for this treatment. I will probably have upwards of twelve sessions before the most binding fascia relaxes enough to give me a fluid range of motion. Once we agree that one to two times a week is no longer necessary, I will return for fine tuning monthly or every couple of months.

I am taller. I can breathe with more lung capacity. I have not had any numbness in my right leg. Better yet, I am learning how to do my morning stretches more slowly, meeting the point of resistance and gently, with the breathe, increasing the pressure and range of motion as the restrictions melt. This is not about pushing through pain. It is about release. Athletes, young and old, find new movement, relief from chronic pain. People who sit at desks all day, or do repetitive activities like playing the violin, giving facials and massage or bagging groceries can get relief. Self care instruction is part of the deal.

I recommend myofascial release therapy highly.

Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

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First barrier of resistance

Myofascial Release